Fatal apartment fire in Lakewood caused by cigarette

LAKEWOOD - Fire officials determined that a cigarette caused the apartment fire that killed a resident and injured a firefighter Monday morning.

Firefighters found Dale Disanto, 62, dead in his burning first floor suite at Executive House Apartments on Clifton Boulevard just after midnight. The Cuyahoga County Coroner determined that Disanto died of exposure to smoke.

“The official cause of the fire is from smoking,” said Fire Chief Lawrence Mroz. “That started the couch and the living room on fire.”

Two firefighters carried Disanto’s body out and one suffered a slight injury to his back, Mroz said.

At 12:10 a.m., fire officials responded to the building and evacuated residents. They were allowed to return by about 3 a.m.

“We checked all of the hallways and apartments for smoke and checked all of the carbon monoxide levels before letting people back in,” Mroz said.

Two individuals are being sheltered by the Red Cross due to smoke damage in their apartment.

Crews from Bay Village, Cleveland and Rocky River assisted the Lakewood Fire Department in the evacuation.

The fire was contained to a single suite with some smoke damage in the hallway.

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